Unfortunately for Them, A Fu Had Sonar

The Shogunate is once again rallying its forces in response to diplomatic friction stemming from the Arcane Council.

"I thought about it for a full three minutes, but I still couldn't figure out why the Council causing trouble again."

Kang De said to Hong San.

Hong San, his brow furrowed, perused the documents. "Something unusual must be going on."

Initially, the dragons delivered the message that the Trade and Economic Department of the Arcane Council was summoning the Broken Isles' representative in Tula Xiaye. After some discussion, the Ministry of Plenty concluded that the Arcane Council had neither the courage nor the need to seize the Broken Isles' overseas assets, and thus classified the matter as "to be observed."

Then came diplomatic contacts. The Council's envoys formally delivered greetings from the Starry Sky Council to the Kang De Shogunate. The councilors were deeply concerned about the series of events taking place on the Broken Isles and expressed their worries about the meteor shower falling from the sky, because the long lessons of history have shown that most of the unknown matter from other dimensions and the universe is a gift from malevolent demons.

Therefore, in the spirit of being responsible to the Distant Harbor, Goth, and even the entire continent, the Council hoped that Kang De could explain to the continental countries and submit samples of the extraterrestrial objects so that the Council determine whether they were harmful and take appropriate action as appropriate—such as destruction, storage, or utilization.

Tina completely ignored the Council's explanation. After all, Kang De and the Council a long-standing feud. The first time they clashed was during the Dragon Clan delegation incident, when the Council used the same excuse to be aggressive and even insult and despise Goth. But now, the situation was different.

"Your Excellency, please convey my gratitude to the Starry Sky Council. The Council protected the continent's peace and stability for many years, and everyone in it is deeply grateful."

At that time, Princess Goth said with a smile, "But whether my fiancé is responsible for Goth and Distant Harbor is for the people of Goth to judge in their own hearts, so there is no need for the Council define it. As for whether the extraterrestrial objects are harmful, he will certainly have his own opinion. Moreover, we will invite scholars and experts from the Dragon Clan and Twilight Moon to conduct joint observation and judgment, so there is no need for the Council worry about it."

"However, Distant Harbor has always treated the world with an open and sharing philosophy. We respect knowledge and we admire wisdom. If the experts and scholars of the Arcane Council are also interested in Kang De's spoils, please submit an application to the Truth Office. We welcome top scholars from Tula Xiaye to come to Distant Harbor to contribute their wisdom and play their due historical role in the Civilization process of the entire world."

A degree of firmness and hostility is necessary.

After all, the previous incident involving the Azure Fleet had caused quite an unpleasant situation, and now that Kang De wields the power of the forbidden solar Forbidden Spell and is awe-inspiring throughout the world, he naturally has to speak very loudly.

If, under such circumstances, Kant still greets the Council with a smile, grants their every request, and treats them with utmost courtesy, the councilors would likely become very uneasy, thinking that Kang De must be plotting some terrible conspiracy in private.

They'll feel more at ease if we take a tougher stance against them.

--A worthless scoundrel.

He spoke with a sharp tongue, leaving the Council's envoy red-faced and storming off.

This time, however, the envoy from the cradle of magic and Arcane did not utter any harsh words.

They have toned down all their arrogance.

Perhaps, times have truly changed.

The absolute academic and technological superiority that the Arcane Council once prided itself on, and its absolute authority in extraordinary fields, are no longer what they once were.

The Council's envoy was also not taken seriously by Tina; it was another matter of "waiting for further developments."

From the Shogunate's perspective, under the threat of Forbidden Spell and with "dragons and elves both entering the fray," even the arrogant Arcane Council had no choice but to accept defeat.

They had to reluctantly pay a hefty entrance fee, sign numerous unequal treaties, and send their best experts and scholars to Distant Harbor to participate in research on the Yilan-Tai'er substance. They had to send their best scholars to Distant Harbor to work for free, unconditionally share their valuable research results with Distant Harbor, and spend a lot of money to import these three legendary substances from Distant Harbor for domestic development and manufacturing.

The departments of Wealth and Truth have already begun formulating export plans.

We don't need money, we need people, technology, and resources.

Technology transfer, equipment export, personnel employment... they relentlessly fleece other countries.

This idea originated from a meeting held when the four departments of the Shogunate were established. At the meeting, Kang De made a secret report and gave instructions that the Distant Harbor should rely on its advantages in technology, economy and ideology to expand its trade surplus, continuously siphon off the entire continent, earn their wealth, acquire their wisdom and industry, attract their talents, and defend this free trade by force.

The Arcane Council was listed as the next major competitor and potential war target.

In the eyes of the Shogunate officials, the Council had become a lamb to the slaughter.

However, just this afternoon, the Ministry of Peace issued a warning.

The Azure Fleet has been detected heading towards the Broken Sea.

I was shocked.

When it comes to matters of force, this is no longer Shogunate can decide on its own. Kang De was urgently summoned back, and relevant reports and intelligence began to be collected and gathered. To everyone's surprise, the Arcane Council's attitude was extremely tough, and there were even signs of resorting to force.

Why?

Even a powerful Big Linzi like Iran could only slink away from Iran in disgrace when faced with Du Youguang's atomic bomb warning, and only dared to speak out loudly after developing its own nuclear weapons.

How can this Council so India?

Kang De looked around his Shogunate.

He spread his hands and said, "Didn't the Council know I know kung fu? Have they always been this brave?"

"This isn't a matter of courage, it's a matter of motivation," Hong San thought for a moment and replied. "From the previous Azure Fleet incident, we can see that the Council always been mindful of His Highness's Forbidden Spell spells and maintained a certain degree of restraint, but it hasn't been completely timid and has still taken some threatening and forceful actions... But things are different now."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "The reason they took a hard line in the Azure Fleet incident is because a main fleet is of great significance. Losing the Azure Fleet would mean a severe blow Council the Council's naval power. They would lose their power projection over the western seas, and the resulting losses would be incalculable. Therefore, even if it offends His Highness, they will try their best to save this fleet."

"But this time is different."

"This time, at least we don't know their reasons for being so tough."

Upon hearing this, Tina said softly, "But this reason must be important enough for the Arcane Council risk using Forbidden Spell spells to wage hostile conflict against us at this time."

Kang De for a moment, then nodded and said, "That makes sense; they're mainly in a hurry."

He said, "I set off such a grand fireworks display, the Emperor and the Grand Speaker must be extremely wary and wish they could kill me as soon as possible. But even if they want to kill me or deal with me, they have to find a way to deal with the threat of the Forbidden Spell first. At least they need a plan and means to resist it... They have to solve this problem first before they dare to deal with me, and this is definitely not a problem that can be solved in a few days."

Everyone nodded.

"So, their eagerness to act suggests two possibilities in my view."

The officials adopted an attitude of listening attentively.

"First."

Kang De glanced at everyone and said calmly, "They are the dogs of the Star Palace, at least some of the higher-ups are, just like the island lords of the Broken Isles."

"Dogs act illogically; their only logic is what their master tells them to do. Therefore, they don't consider gains or losses. They don't care about the serious consequences of their actions, nor do they care about wars breaking out in the Mortal World or the Council destroyed. It's simply their master's task."

At this point, the man with the metallic face in the room suddenly let out a very soft, suppressed laugh.

Kang De glared at her.

The conference room fell silent.

The group exchanged bewildered glances, each one horrified.

"This..." Leona only learned about the Star Palace in the last two days, and she murmured, "Isn't that unlikely?"

"How could it be impossible?" Kang De said slowly. "If we don't tell, who in this world would know that the pioneers and rulers of the Broken Isles, which control the trade hub of the Western Sea and flow with wealth and dreams, are traitors who have worshipped the Star Palace for generations and stirred up chaos and evil in the Mortal World?"

He looked into everyone's eyes. "The Star Palace is powerful, overlooking the Mortal World from the clouds. Are the Broken Isles their only pawns and arrangements? If the Broken Isles are being secretly manipulated by the Star Palace, how can we be sure that the Star Palace's shadow doesn't exist within the Empire, the Council, or even the Dusk Moon Dynasty?"

No one spoke.

A chill ran through me.

Unlike Kang De, they were natives of this other world, having grown up with a deep understanding of the power of these three superpowers: the Empire, the sovereign of humanity; the Council steers the path of arcane magic; and the Elves, the current hegemon, whose power resounds throughout the world. If these superpowers all have the Shadow vines of the Star Palace clinging to them...

Kang De looked at the silent people and smiled to himself.

I've still seen too little.

--We Earthlings have been fabricating conspiracy theories and claiming that the United States government is controlled by aliens for at least several decades. If you told me now that A Chuan was put to power by some evil force that thrives on chaos, I wouldn't be surprised.

"That's unlikely; at least, the influence of the Star Palace isn't that severe."

Dong Tianming had been silent until now, slowly opened his mouth.

"If the Council had been largely corrupted by the Star Palace, then Battle of the Broken Isles, the Azure Fleet would have joined forces with the Deep Sea Behemoths... They didn't do that, and the Council didn't take advantage of the situation. This suggests that the Star Palace's control over the Council wasn't that strong, and if it wasn't that strong..."

Mr. Dong said, "The deployment of the Azure Fleet this time is certainly not the result of the Star Palace's forced push. To persuade the councilors to agree to send troops, there must be a plausible motive."

Kang De thought for a moment, understood, and nodded, saying, "You're right."

"But Your Highness's statement also has some merit, and we must be vigilant."

Dong Tianming's voice deepened, and he said quietly, "I've been through this before. The influence and impact of the Star Palace on the Mortal World are beyond any of our imagination."

"Especially after the Battle of the Broken Isles, the Star Palace suffered such a great loss and, fearing His Highness's Forbidden Spell, will not easily descend upon the Mortal World. However, they will use their usual tricks to incite war in the Mortal World, causing Mortal World races to kill each other and become a chaotic mess. At this time, the pawns they previously placed in the Mortal World kingdoms will play their due role... Perhaps the reason for the next war will be this."

He solemnly replied, "Your Highness, please investigate thoroughly."

"I've already thought about this problem. The interrogation of the Broken Isles' lord is still ongoing, and we'll extract everything we want to know from that old man."

Kang De said calmly, "The Inquisition is also setting up a side branch to specifically search for and hunt down high-ranking Star Palace lackeys hiding in the Mortal World. This war has already begun."

A deep-seated hatred flashed in Dong Tianming's eyes.

He cupped his hands and said, "This old minister has several students who are skilled in this art, as well as a number of servants and retainers. I humbly request that they join the Inquisition to eradicate these Mortal World rebels."

Kang De hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Horus: "Provided they pass the test and verification."

Dong Tianming bowed and said, "They were born for this very purpose."

"So, let's get back to the original topic: what exactly does the Council want to achieve?"

Kang De stroked his chin. "Since the first possibility is unlikely, then the second possibility—they sent people to inquire about the legacy materials of Yilan-Tai'er, and also dispatched the Azure Fleet to the Broken Sea. Even the dragons have reported that they are contacting the person in charge of the Broken Isles in Tula Xiaye..."

Tina whispered, "Are they very interested in those legendary substances?"

"This isn't a level I'm particularly interested in. This three-pronged approach is practically outright robbery."

Kang De smiled and said, "They're using a three-pronged approach. The feeling they give me isn't 'Hey, something fell from the sky, I'm curious and want to take a look,' but rather 'I know what good stuff it is, I know how to use it, and I'm going to get my hands on it no matter what's going to happen'... They're extremely goal-oriented."

Hong San suddenly realized, "Could it be that they know what that is?"

Kang De nodded readily. "The probability is very high. Don't forget, after the Azure Fleet's incident, in their panic, we managed to figure out some things."

"They secretly sent a submarine to observe, but it wrecked, probably running right into that deep-sea behemoth, and then somehow got their fleet coordinates stolen. Judging from the behemoth's surface appearance time, the submarine definitely didn't encounter it halfway through its journey, but rather stumbled upon its lair by sheer chance."

What's in the behemoth's lair?

"I suspect the Council definitely knows."

Kang De smiled as he said this.

"Then there are only two reasons why they took the risk."

"First, given the Council's background and historical records, they guessed that this behemoth was the Destroyer of the Yilan-Tai'er Civilization. They knew that the strange substance that fell from the sky was the source of power that enabled Yilan-Tai'er to reach its peak era. Only in this way could they be so blinded by greed and disregard everything, even wanting to openly rob it—I suspect that sending the Azure Fleet to the Broken Sea was for this kind of shameless idea."

"They wanted to take advantage of the chaos to salvage some legendary artifacts floating in the sea."

"Second..."

Kang De's smile grew even brighter, "Secondly, the lair of the behemoth is the ruins of Yilan-Tai'er, containing items far more valuable than the three legendary substances. They want to secretly seize it for themselves, but they fear that I am also searching for the behemoth's lair. So, while they are causing trouble openly to attract my attention, they are secretly working underwater, making a fortune in silence, and taking the opportunity to monopolize Yilan-Tai'er's legacy."

--This guess is very close.

Everyone present was intelligent, but even the most intelligent person can only make inferences based on existing information; they cannot deduce things out of thin air.

So they could imagine that the Council's wrecked submarine had wandered into the giant beast's lair, but they couldn't have imagined that the Yilan-Tai'er Civilization was still alive and had even found the submarine's communication equipment, making contact with the Council —such a series of coincidences was beyond human comprehension.

They nodded in agreement; Kang De's analysis made a lot of sense.

Hong San thought about the whole thing from beginning to end and found no logical flaws.

"That's very likely," he said seriously. "So, what should we do next?"

Kang De laughed.

Seeing him like this, everyone laughed, because whenever Kang De showed this kind of smile, it meant that someone or some organization was about to encounter something bad.

"They want to act, so we'll act with them."

The Earthling laughed, "We should film the whole thing and make it into a movie or documentary. We could call it 'The Grand Speaker's Ingenious Plan to Secure the World, But He Lost the Fleet and Wasted His Time.'"

Tina laughed and said, "You lost the entire fleet?"

Kang De nodded and said, "Yes, I've had contact with the Azure Fleet before. They were sent here by the councilors to fight desperately, and they're very resentful. Now they're doing this again. The councilors just open their mouths in Tula Xiaye, and they want to run to the Broken Isles to suffer my Forbidden Spell. They must be extremely unhappy. This is the perfect time to use a divisive tactic to poach them. We are currently most in need of talent, and the more the better."

"So, let's get started."

"In terms of diplomacy, the Ministry of Unity Council, and they can drag the dragons and elves into the argument."

"Regarding the acquisition and consolidation of the Broken Isles' overseas assets, the Ministry of Plenty is cooperating with West Goth Company to expedite the process. If the Council supports the Broken Isles' lackeys to challenge them, then let the Inquisition handle the matter."

"The Azure Fleet has arrived at the Broken Isles. Hand it over to the Navy, A Fu. I'm sending your main body to the Broken Isles. From now on, you will be stationed here and initiating a containment operation against the Azure Fleet."

Upon hearing this, Dong Tianming asked, "My lord, what about the underwater situation? The Council will definitely deploy submarines to secretly infiltrate the giant beast's lair, but we don't know its exact location..."

"No, we will find out."

Kang De looked at the smiling A Fu.

"Once there, activate the bow active sonar system, deploy the anti-submarine helicopter, drop coordinates, turn on the radar, and conduct a continuous search of the Broken Sea."

A Fu saluted and said, "Understood!"

The Horizon class corvettes also possess anti-submarine warfare capabilities.

--The Council is full of idiots, it's hilarious.

A later poet praised him in verse, "The Speaker's brilliant plan brought peace to the world, secretly digging up the grave; it wasn't that the submarine was useless, but A Fu had a sonar."

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PS1: Update...

PS2: I went to bed around 8 pm last night, but woke up again at 1 am. When I went back to sleep, my brain was super active for some reason, and it automatically created a board game system in my head. I lay in bed until 2 am, which means I played Monopoly in my head for an hour...

PS3: After calming down and regaining my composure, I forced myself to sleep until 4 AM, then tried to sleep again, but I couldn't fall asleep until 6 AM. Then I got up to write... The conclusion is that I didn't get enough sleep at all, because I was sweating profusely while writing, and my head was foggy from yawning. Ugh, what's wrong with me...?